Following the renewal of the partnership between NetEase and Blizzard to reintroduce Blizzard games to China, more than two million players have pre-registered in just two days. This update was provided by Blizzard and reported by WoWHead. The statistics revealed also include 147,000 reactivated accounts and 92,000 recovered accounts, highlighting a strong interest in the return of these games. Additionally, Blizzard China has received over a thousand resumes, indicating significant professional interest in the company’s resurgence in the market.
The relaunch includes other Blizzard titles such as Hearthstone, Overwatch, Starcraft, Diablo, and Heroes of the Storm, but World of Warcraft (WoW) has garnered a particularly strong response.
Data from Blizzard China, translated by NasDa on Twitter, reflect the high demand for WoW in China, where, according to Warcraft Logs, 60% of all Classic WoW players are based. Many of these players had moved to Taiwanese realms to continue playing after the Chinese servers were shut down last year, but a significant number remain eager to return to their original accounts.
Despite the enthusiasm for WoW’s return, interest in Season 4 has seen a decline among these players, partly because NetEase plans to allow players to earn back missed rewards from the Dragonflight season. The reactivation of the Chinese WoW servers is not expected before the launch of the new expansion, The War Within, but the outlook for WoW in China is optimistic as plans unfold to reintegrate and revitalize the player base.